5 Steps To Becoming A Morning Person

It's very well thinking that if I set my alarm earlier, I'll automatically get up feeling alert and refreshed and becoming a morning person will be an overnight fix. However, if that was the case - I reckon everyone would be a morning person! But with the busy realities of life and hectic schedules, it's not that easy.

I'm in my early 20's and I would now consider myself a morning person, but 3/4 years ago I would be going to bed at 1-2 am and getting up closer to midday. It can be so easy to get stuck in the cycle of late nights, late mornings - but do you ever find with this schedule, you continue to feel you're not able to fit everything in? In waking up earlier you have more time for productivity and leisure - which if completed in the mornings, make the rest of the day seem less stressful - there's less on our 'to do list'. Morning's are - believe it or not - my favourite part of the day - and it could be yours to!

So how did I achieve this transition? Here are 5 easy steps to kick start your journey of becoming a morning person:

1) Create a night time routine

The environment and routine that you have in the evening is very important to accustom your body to get ready to go to sleep. For example, I will always shower, light a candle, complete my evening face cleansing routine and drink a non caffeinated tea before going to bed (e.g. peppermint or chamomile) before going to sleep. This is just what I do - but whatever routine you decide on (i.e. reading a book, listening to music etc.), make sure it is something that relaxes you and something that you can repeat, so your body learns this ritual. Another way of relaxing before you go to sleep is to have a calming environment - for me that means my bedroom is always clean and clutter is kept to a minimum.

2) Aim to go to bed and get up at the same time each day

By going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time, your body will become trained to repeatedly use this routine to sleep and wake up. I personally go to bed at 10:00 pm and get up at 6:00 am (I need my full 8 hours!) and often I wake up just before my alarm clock rings because I have repeated this routine for so long.

3) Get more sleep

This may sound obvious, but by completing the above 2 steps - these should assist you in getting more sleep. Our body needs sleep and we should aim to have between 7-9 hours of sleep scheduled into our day. Research has shown that getting a good night's sleep has many benefits including: Increased memory consolidation, increased mood and concentration, better metabolism and weight and lower's blood pressure and stress levels.

4) Have something to look forward to

This is my top piece of advice and definitely is what makes me enthusiastic to get up in the morning. Always have something to look forward to, and don't leave treats for just the weekend - instead spread them out over the week. It may seem simple, but what gets me up in the morning is... Breakfast! I will always always make sure I have an exciting breakfast to look forward to, whether that be overnight oats, eggs, pancakes etc... I will have thought about it the night before so I know what I'm eating in the morning. Combined with this I will also make time to have a cup of tea and read some scripture before the day starts - a little bit of calm before usually a hectic day at work begins. Maybe this might not get you excited to get out of bed, but have a think about what might - use the morning's as a time for you!

5) Get moving as quick as possible - yup that's right, stop hitting 'snooze'!

Basically, the longer you lie in bed, thinking about getting up, the less you're going to want to do it. You then also run the risk of falling back to sleep and then waking up feeling all 'groggy'. For me, I will always go downstairs and make myself a cup of tea as the first thing I do, so that it cools to a drinkable temperature when I need to drink it. It's something as simple as that! The moment you wake up or your alarm goes off - get up and get moving!

Love From

Ruth xxx